colony · North America and Oceania

French Establishments in Oceania

1842 CE – 1946 CE · capital Papeete

France's scattered Pacific colony of Tahiti, the Marquesas and other island groups, which became French Polynesia after the Second World War.

Origins

In 1842 France annexed the Marquesas and imposed a protectorate on the Kingdom of Tahiti, leading to the Franco-Tahitian War of 1844 to 1847. In 1880 Pōmare V ceded Tahiti outright, and France then annexed the Gambier Islands, the Leeward Islands, where the Kingdom of Raiatea resisted until 1897, and the Austral Islands by 1901.

Rule and society

A governor at Papeete ran the colony, with Catholic and Protestant missions dominant in schooling. Copra, vanilla, pearl shell and phosphate from Makatea were the main exports, and Chinese labourers came for a cotton plantation in the 1860s and stayed as traders. The painter Paul Gauguin made its image famous in Europe. In 1940 the colony rallied to Free France and sent volunteers to the Pacific Battalion.

Decline and legacy

After the Second World War, in which the colony served as an Allied base on Bora Bora, the Establishments became an overseas territory of the French Union in 1946, and Polynesians gained French citizenship. The territory was renamed French Polynesia in 1957.

Lineage

Kingdom of Huahine 1700 CE – 1895 CEKingdom of Raiatea 1700 CE – 1888 CEKingdom of Bora Bora 1700 CE – 1888 CEKingdom of Tahiti 1788 CE – 1880 CEFrench Establishments in OceaniaFrench Polynesia 1946 CE – present

Connections (1)

  • French Establishments in Oceania was a colony of French Empire1842 CE – 1946 CE

More states of North America and Oceania →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). French Establishments in Oceania. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-establishments-in-oceania
MLA
“French Establishments in Oceania.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-establishments-in-oceania. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “French Establishments in Oceania.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-establishments-in-oceania.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘French Establishments in Oceania’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-establishments-in-oceania (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻